FREEPORT, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas -- The Government of The Bahamas is committed to improving health care facilities throughout The Bahamas; and Minister of Health and Wellness, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville is ensuring that health care facilities in the Northern Bahamas get the upgrades necessary to take health care to the next level.

Over the past few weeks Dr. Darville, along with Ministry of Health officials have been on a tour of clinics and hospitals throughout the country assessing those facilities, their staff complements, their needs and making recommendations for any required upgrades and improvements.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Philip Davis accompanied Dr. Darville on some of those site tours.  Most recently the Prime Minister and Dr. Darville toured health care facilities in the Northern Bahamas, namely Abaco, Grand Bahama, Bimini and the Berry Islands.

The Prime Minister was able to witness firsthand a monumental achievement in the life of the clinic in Marsh Harbor, Abaco, when the surgical theatre was used for the first time.

“It was an historic moment for this clinic,” said Dr. Darville, during the tour of the Marsh Harbor clinic. “Through a philanthropic effort, they are now doing cataract surgery here in Abaco. The people in Abaco are so grateful for this milestone. What some people may not know is that the Abaco clinic is a sister clinic of the one in Exuma.  So, what you see in Abaco is pretty much the same as what you would see in Exuma.”

Prime Minister Davis got an opportunity to tour the operating theatre in the clinic on Friday, August 9, 2024.  He noted that with the help of Liquid Legacy and the World Cataract Foundation, the government was able to offer surgeries, eye examinations and screenings, free to Abaco residents.

Dr. Darville thanked the staff at the Marsh Harbor clinic for the hard work they’ve put in to advance the procedures available at the clinic.  He confirmed that the Ministry of Health and Wellness is deep into its project to renovate the 41 clinics throughout the Family Islands. The Health Minister has visited most of those clinics where he received updates on the progress of the works being carried out thus far.

On Saturday, August 10, 2024, Prime Minister Davis, Dr. Darville, Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Ginger Moxey and Ministry of Health officials toured the construction site of the $210 million Freeport Health campus, located off East Sunrise Highway.

The completion of the Freeport Health Campus, according to Minister Darville, will unify the Rand Memorial Hospital with other medical facilities in the Northern Bahamas, including clinics in Abaco, Bimini and the Berry Islands.

“A lot of people don’t know, but the Rand Memorial Hospital is not classified as a full hospital,” explained Dr. Darville. “There are Memorandums of understanding with some sub-specialties that are tied in with the Princess Margaret Hospital. With this particular facility, we intend to resolve that and begin to open up this new Northern health facility to the Northern region, inclusive of Abaco, Bimini and the Berry Islands.”

The Davis Administration broke ground for the Health Clinic in May of 2023. Since then, steady progress in the construction of the multi-faceted facility has been taking place. During the tour of the work in progress, Prime Minister Davis noted that the facility will take a more holistic approach to advanced health care in Grand Bahama and the Northern Bahamas.

The health campus facility will be built over three phases. 

Phase one will consist of a nearly 60,000 square foot clinic. 

Phase two will include an inpatient surgical suite urgent care facility, 

Phase three will involve the construction of an acute care hospital with 126 inpatient beds. One of the most important components of the new facility will be the opening of an oncology center, which will give Grand Bahama cancer patients the option of remaining on island during cancer treatments.
The first phase is expected to be completed by the middle of 2025.

“We intend to have this facility also serve as a research hub for international researchers in matters of new innovations in medicine, including regenerative medicine and longevity,” said Prime Minister Philip Davis, during the tour of the construction works. “We have the doctor’s university just down the street that will hopefully be integrated in what we’re doing here.”

It was during the initial groundbreaking that Minister Darville pointed out that drawings had been made for nine new clinics throughout the Family Islands. He also noted that 41 clinics in the country were set to undergo renovations.